Wings of Wax
Daedalus and his son lived on an island. A king would not let them leave. They looked at the sea.
Daedalus saw a bird. "The king can stop the boats," he said. "But he can not stop the sky."
Daedalus got feathers. He put them in rows. He stuck them on with wax from a candle.
Soon there were two pairs of wings. The big pair was for Daedalus. The small pair was for Icarus.
"Fly in the middle," said Daedalus. "Not too low or too high. The sun can melt the wax."
They jumped from the tower. The wind lifted them up. They flew over the sea!
Icarus was so happy. He flew up and up. "Come back!" called his father.
The sun was hot. The wax got soft. The feathers fell off like snow.
Icarus fell toward the water. His father flew down after him. A fisherman rowed up in his boat.
The fisherman pulled them in. Icarus was wet, but he was safe. "I will listen now," he said.
Questions
- In a tall tree
- On an island
- In a cave
- Wax
- Glue
- Mud
- Fly as high as you can
- Fly home at night
- Fly in the middle, not too high or low
- The sun made the wax soft
- The wind was cold
- A bird took them
- A king
- A fisherman
- A bird
- Very loud
- Very big
- Not hard
Words to know
- wax: candle stuff
- feathers: bird's covering
- sun: our star
- fisherman: fish catcher
Answer key: Wings of Wax
- B. On an island
- A. Wax
- C. Fly in the middle, not too high or low
- A. The sun made the wax soft
- B. A fisherman
- C. Not hard
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Wings of Wax” is a reading level 6 story. Every Peabody story at this level is written and checked to keep sentences to 10 words or fewer, to aim at an average of 6 words a sentence, and to show 12 to 20 words on a screen. At most 7% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Readers reach this level by climbing, not by grade.
| This passage | 172 words, 10 screens, 6 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 4 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence at this level | 10 words |
| Words on a screen | 12 to 20 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words |
Reading level 6: the limits, a real sample and the free games. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: use the questions to talk about the story, not to grade a child.